The rest of the night went peacefully, Adam decided to turn in early that night, he had little else to do, though not before spending an extra 5 caps on a beer to enjoy while he chatted with Chuck.
The next day came and Adam once more found himself with little plans. He spent the day wandering the town more, not that there was much he hadn't seen, but he did admire the ingenuity people had to create this town, much of the buildings were made from scrap wood and metal, they looked ramshackle but they were sturdy and they were built with survivability in mind. He noticed small subtle things like the houses all had one wall that seemed to be extra reinforced. He could assume to act as a bulletproof wall and room if it came to it. He also noticed that most of the windows had grates on them, likely to prevent grenades and things from being thrown in, though some of the houses had a hinge or two that let the grate be swung open. These were not the only things he noticed either, there were a lot of little construction details that he hadn't considered but would likely be helpful living in a world where a super mutant raid could happen at any time.
But all in all this did not take him too long, so he went back to the Inn to grab a meal, 14 caps today. However just as he was finishing his breakfast he heard the sound of a few gunshots being fired towards the north. Then there was silence, no screams, no extra gunfire, just nothing.
He wasn't the only one who noticed, everyone else in the bar turned to look at the wall where the sound came through too, even Eric. Clearly this was not a common occurrence. It did not take long to figure out what was going on.
"Is Salvatore here?" A man wearing the heavy coat that the guards usually wear came running into the Inn, looking a bit panicked. Eric looked at him and then looked around and then seemed to realize he was the one who would have to respond.
"I uh… don't know…" Eric said hesitantly.
"Fuck." The volunteer guard said before he looked at Adam. "You, you are that vault dweller who has been going out recently right? Come with me." He said as he turned around again, not waiting for Adam's response. "And if someone sees Salvatore send him to the north gate!" He said as he started to turn the corner.
Adam was left speechless for a moment before looking at Eric, then at his scraps of food on his plate. He sighed, wiped his mouth, downed the rest of his drink and then power walked outside to follow the guard who was already out of sight.
By the time Adam had gotten outside it seemed as though a lot of townsfolk were curious as he was to what was going on, though most seemed to be staying away from the North gate where the sound came from but a small group of people, many of whom he recognized the faces of as guards he had seen on duty at one time or another had gathered at the gate and were discussing.
Adam approached, assuming this is where he was being led and a few of the men turned to look at him.
"You are Adam right? The guy who is going beyond the walls?" One said questioningly.
"Uh… yeah that's me. I heard I was needed?" Adam asked before a slightly larger man with white hair and a brown worn t-shirt and cargo pants stepped a bit forward.
"I'll cut to the chase." The man spoke, his voice more grizzled than the others. "We just got a visit from some raiders. Said they would be back in a few days to collect a 'tax'." He crossed his arms.
"We aren't going to give them a penny, but I'm not taking this situation lightly, if you are willing to help us thwart them I will ensure you are compensated thusly." Adam paused, he needed a moment to process this. So a gang of raiders had just stopped by to extort the town and now he was being asked to help fight them off when they returned? He did like this town and would be willing to help but he couldn't help but hesitate, he didn't know how many people were coming, what kind of weapons they were packing, or how trained they were. This was a shot in the dark.
"How much compensation?" Salvatore said as he sauntered over wearing his combat gear and holding his rifle. It looked like he threw it on when he heard the gunfire from his room as the boots were not laced properly and he didn't have his shotgun on hand, but he looked ready to fight if it came to it.
"I do not know offhand." The grizzled man returned as he put a hand to his chin to consider. "I would need to find out what we have in the town coffers but 200 caps to every man who helps?" He offered.
"300" Salvatore countered. "If I'm going to put my life at risk then I want to be appropriately paid for my work, Grant."
Grant seemed to stand in silence for a moment as he considered before he nodded.
"Aright, every man who joins the defense will get paid 300 caps each." He said with a firm commitment to the number. Salvatore pulled out a cigarette from the pack, put it in his mouth and actually lit it this time. Maybe he didn't smoke indoors, or, at least, maybe he didn't smoke inside the Inn.
"You are gonna need to do much more than defend." Salvatore said as he took a puff of his cigarette. "If raiders are operating close enough to here to come for a racket and they feel bold enough to pull it off, you can't just take out who comes looking, you gotta cut the head off the snake. We are going to need to wipe them out."
"Are you crazy?" Another of the men in the group said as he spoke incredulously to Salvatore. "We aren't an army! We can't go and attack their base!" Salvatore just remained perfectly calm while he smoked.
"I've been through this song and dance more than once kid, if you don't pull the weeds out from the root they will just keep coming back."
"How do you plan to do that? We don't know how many of them there are!"
"We do know where they are from though…" Grant added, uncertain if Salvatore's plan was a wise one or not and was remaining on the fence about it.
"Good then we can wipe them out." Salvatore said as he cracked his neck a bit looking ready for a fight.
"I agree." Adam spoke up, finally throwing in his two cents. "But I don't think we should strike first." He turned to look at Salvatore when he said this.
"What we should do is let them come back in three days to collect their tax, get them to lower their guard, and then ambush them. Then, after they are dealt with, we all head to their base and eliminate the ones who remain. Divide and conquer." Grant seemed to get lost in contemplation for a moment but Salvatore grinned.
"Not a bad plan kid. That is, assuming they don't come in three days with everyone."
"It's possible, but what do we have to lose? We have the advantage of playing defense here and we know what way they will come, if we pre-plan angles of attack we can easily create a kill box." Salvatore looked impressed but didn't add anything to that last comment as he took another puff of his cigarette.
"It's a half-way decent plan kid, but the employer is the one who calls the shots." He said looking at Grant.
"Alright, we will do as you suggest." Grant said, looking at Adam. "We will set up an ambush for them when they return in 3 days and after we handle the ones who come, we will storm their base, minus some who will stay behind to guard Naper while we are gone."
"Grant, I'm not confident I'll be able to do this…" One of the youngest looking guys here said. The only female in the group lightly slapped his back and grinned.
"Don't worry, we got your back, all you need to do is point your gun at them and fire. It doesn't matter if you hit them, all you gotta do is try." Grant nodded in agreement.
"A lot of you are not soldiers, just folks who are willing to help out around here, but the town is counting on you. These scumbags come to our home and try to extort us, if not you then who will defend the town?" Grant's comment seemed to get a few of the men to mutter in agreement and nod along. He then turned to look at Salvatore and Adam again. "We got three days to prepare. We have work to do."